Screengrab via Tampa Police Department/Facebook
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor is calling for stricter gun regulations following a deadly mass shooting in Ybor City early Sunday morning that resulted in two dead and at least 18 injured.
Flanked by Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw and State Attorney Susan Lopez during a Sunday press conference, the mayor expressed that historic nightlife district of Ybor City is not to blame, and said instead the focus should be on irresponsible gun ownership.
“Unfortunately this morning we’re on the national news about yet another shooting in our country, a shooting where individuals have a dispute and decided to end that dispute with firearms. Now we have lives that have been lost and other lives that have been permanently altered,” said Castor, who is also a former Tampa police chief.
“We have got to say as a country that enough is enough,” continued Castor. “We can’t just come back to the microphones day after day and give our sincere heartfelt condolences to the victims of firearm violence. We as a country have got to make decisions. The vast majority of Americans support responsible firearm ownership; they also support reasonable regulations.”
Over the weekend, a score of critics on social media blamed the shooting on the late-night party atmosphere in Ybor City. However, during the press conference, Castor dismissed those claims.
“Ybor City is one of our historical landmarks. It’s known for culture, education, great restaurants, entertainment,” said Castor. “I know that a lot of the business owners have stepped forward to do what they can to make Ybor safer. It is just these particular incidents. If you look at the overall crime rate anywhere [in the] city, it is very, very low.”
Before the Sunday’s press conference, Castor has also expressed her concern over irresponsible gun ownership on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Yet again, a senseless loss of life by those choosing to settle a dispute with firearms. Lives lost and others forever changed. To what end? The Tampa Police Department had 50 officers deployed in the area at the time, so this is not a law enforcement issue,” wrote Castor. “Bad decisions made in a split second and the proliferation of readily available guns are responsible for these almost daily incidents. We can affect one half of this equation.”
During Sunday’s press conference, Chief Bercaw announced that TPD had arrested a suspect in the shooting — 22-year-old Tyrell Stephens Phillips, who was charged with second degree homicide with a firearm.
Bercaw also shared that both handguns from the shooting have been recovered, and one of them was stolen.
TPD says the shooting started at around 3 a.m. Sunday, when two groups had an altercation group near the 1600 block of East Seventh Avenue.
Multiple social media posts show a stampede of people running for cover as shots are heard in the background.
The shooting resulted in two deaths, a 14-year-old Black man and a 22-year-old white man, said Bercaw. The chief also shared that 18 people were injured during the shooting, and 15 of those were shot. As of Sunday afternoon, all but five were still recovering at local hospitals.
Phillips was booked in Hillsborough County jail and is expected to make his first appearance in court on Monday.
This story first appeared in our sister publication Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
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